Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse
Whitehouse (right) as Smashie
Born	Paul Julian Whitehouse (1958-05-17) 17 May 1958 (age 58) Stanleytown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
Alma mater	University of East Anglia
Occupation	Actor, comedian, screenwriter, television producer
Years active	1987–present
Home town	London, England
Children	3

Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a British actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch comedy series The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders. He is most well known for his comic characters in The Fast Show, Harry and Paul and Harry Enfield and Chums. He also appears in AVIVA insurance adverts.

Whitehouse was born in Stanleytown in the Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. His father worked for the National Coal Board and his mother was a singer with the Welsh National Opera. The family moved to Enfield in north London, England when he was four years old, which led to his discovering his talent for mimicry:

At school I didn't say a word for the first four weeks – I called it my Silent Month. I think it was because everyone was speaking so differently from how it had been in Wales. Then, after four weeks, I came home one day and said, 'Muumm, I wanna go to Sarfend!' For her that was the end because I had lost my lovely Welsh lilt. So I became very conscious of speech and the effects it can have. But when I went back to Wales I would start talking all Welsh, 'lyke that you see' before going all Alf Garnett while coming back the other way.

Whitehouse attended the University of East Anglia in Norwich from autumn 1977, where he made friends with Charlie Higson. The pair spent little of their first year studying, instead playing guitar and performing with their punk rock combo, the Right Hand Lovers, along with other university friends Duncan Beamont, Kevin Buckland and Dave Cummings.